Long story short: yes! There are differences between typing and handwriting—most of which you may be familiar with already. Typing is criticized as detrimental to memory recall, but there are certainly benefits we often overlook. And perhaps the future of writing does not entail a clearly defined boundary between handwriting and typing, but a “best of both worlds” situation.
Benefits of Handwriting
Time and time again, handwriting is proven to boost connectivity across brain regions. This significantly strengthens memory formation, spelling accuracy, and conceptual understanding.
The scientific benefits of handwriting have led to some controversial standards; however, namely the requirement of teaching cursive in elementary school. With the diminishing use of cursive, a handful of school districts have done away with the curriculum entirely. On the other hand, some states, such as California, have enacted laws to enforce handwriting practices.
I often hear students grumbling over having to handwrite their notes, or grieving over their elementary school days of cursive booklets and tracing letters. But if handwriting clearly holds an advantage over typing, why do students resist it?
Benefits of Typing
Typing is considered more practical, especially in a school setting. While handwriting one letter typically requires more than one stroke or movement, a simple tap of a key produces the same results on a computer. This allows students to take notes more efficiently. Edits are also easier to make, and highlighting or color-coding no longer requires switching between multiple writing utensils. Additionally, it is arguably easier to organize and share documents online compared to hard copies.
Living in an era of rapidly advancing technology, it is no surprise that typing is increasingly favored over writing by hand. Our fast-paced culture is partly to blame; we are willing to sacrifice the benefits of handwriting for the sake of time and convenience. The debate over whether the pen or keyboard is king remains unresolved, but our options are not necessarily limited to these two models. To capitalize on both handwriting and technology, I present to you a third option: tablets.
The Third Option
Compared to typing, a study showed that handwriting with a digital pen and tablet increased learning ability and memory recall. Researchers found no difference in comprehension scores between students who took notes on paper and students who took notes on a tablet. However, if a digital pen is an unfamiliar tool, it might prove disadvantageous, particularly for younger students. Still, if we can become accustomed to writing on tablets, we can take advantage of both the increased memory formation that comes with handwriting and the ease in organizing digitized documents.
Sources
Thank you to Chloe C for editing this article!